Aqua-Aston

Aqua-Aston is a hotel and condominium management company based in Hawaii. Having recently merged two brands, Aqua and Aston, into one, they were looking to unify the two brands in a single, modern web platform.

Direct bookings with hotels are down over the past few years and it’s our [the traveler’s] fault.

We’ve all done it. At some point all of us have booked hotel rooms through Booking.com, Hotels.com, Expedia.com, etc. And when we book through one of these services, they take a sizable share of what would have otherwise gone entirely to the hotel. And this means hotel profits are down.

Websites like Booking.com or Hotels.com are Online Travel Advisors or OTAs. Travelers have flocked to OTAs in recent years to find the best deals across numerous properties and multiple brands with minimal searching. With traffic and profits down, hotels are looking to find new strategies to boost direct bookings and cultivate deeper relationships with their guests.